Ranking the Strongest Playable Genshin Impact Characters in Lore

In this article:

• Genshin Impact characters are commonly ranked based on their usefulness in the Spiral Abyss meta and how much damage they can put out.
• That said, many Genshin Impact characters don’t have the same power level in terms of gameplay that they do in the game’s lore which is spread out between character descriptions, voice lines, in-game dialogue, artifact descriptions, and other “flavor text”.
• This list goes over the existing text in the game to find the strongest playable characters in Genshin Impact based on its lore.

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Unlike many gacha games where characters seem to appear out of nowhere, Genshin Impact characters are deeply entrenched into the game’s lore either directly or as a hint at the game’s ending. But if you’ve played the game, you know what’s in lore doesn’t necessarily reflect actual gameplay and vice versa.

Couple that with lore being hidden away in character ascension lines and in-game items and it’s not hard to see why many players miss details about the plot and the characters they play.

You don’t have to collect every copy of The Fox and the Dandelion Sea. This list combs through the game’s text to find the strongest Genshin Impact characters in lore.

The 15 Strongest Genshin Impact Characters

1. Zhongli

It’s an obvious answer but there just isn’t anyone in the game right now who’s more powerful than Zhongli. If you don’t want spoilers, it’s time to close this tab because Wangsheng Funeral Parlor’s unassuming consultant is secretly Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon and god of Liyue.

Despite being retired, he’s widely acknowledged to be the strongest of the seven archons, a claim that’s supported by Records of Jueyun as well as several other books found in the Liyue map.

Speaking of the Liyue map, Guyun Stone Forest isn’t a cluster of natural islands but the eroded remains of stone spears thrown by Zhongli earlier in his archon career.

If you’re interested in pulling for him in his next re-run, here’s an in-depth guide on his character story and builds.

2. Raiden Shogun

As much as the fanbase likes to joke about Raiden’s “boob sword”, her Musou no Hitotachi is said to have created the gorge in Yashori Island which is why the area looks like it’s been cut in a straight line.

Among her other awe-inspiring feats are killing the serpent god Orobashi and La Signora, one of the Tsaritsa’s harbingers, and fighting in the Archon War for her sister, Raiden Makoto.

3. Venti

Venti is often disregarded because of his carefree nature, but a quick look at the Mondstadt books will tell you this little wisp of wind practically terraformed all of Mondstadt.

Though he often tells us he’s the weakest archon, his list of accomplishments includes turning a mountain into an island and transforming his nation from a frozen wasteland to a temperate paradise.

Of course, none of this fits with Venti’s humiliating defeat by La Signora which has led many fans to believe that Venti was letting her bring his Gnosis back to the Tsaritsa.

As for why he’d do that, we’ll have to wait for a few more Archon Quests.

4. Xiao

While Venti does his best to make us think he’s weak, Xiao spends most of his on-screen time showing us why he’s such a badass.

Nicknamed “The Vigilant Yaksha,” Xiao is an adeptus who serves Rex Lapis by fighting in the Archon War and later guarding Liyue for him. Xiao is an incredibly strong fighter who was able to put down demons, evil spirits, and maybe even other gods competing against Rex Lapis.

Because of his bloody background, Xiao currently suffers from his “karma” which just looks like the game’s fantasy version of PTSD.

5. Ganyu

Ganyu’s sweet voice and gentle nature belie the fact that she’s a veteran of the Archon War as well. Like Xiao, she’s an adeptus who has the blood of a Qilin, a mythical beast, flowing through her veins and giving her superhuman strength and longevity.

However, being part-Qilin also means that she’s a pacifist by nature and doesn’t fight unless absolutely necessary.

These days, she serves as a secretary to the Liyue Qixing, and with the adepti and Rex Lapis leaving humans to take care of their own affairs, we may not see her in action for a long time.

6. Dainsleif

Figuring out how powerful Dainsleif is relative to other Genshin Impact characters is difficult because we don’t really see much of him in the Archon Quests or in the game’s text. But since he’s a survivor of Khaenriah’s destruction, we can assume that he’s powerful enough to survive attacks from the archons.

He also holds the title of “Bough Keeper”, hinting that he’s connected to the Irminsul trees and Ley Lines. He may even have a part in maintaining their power, though how true that is remains to be seen.

At the very least, he confirms in Venti’s collected miscellany that he’s either immortal or extremely long-lived.

7. Albedo

Like Ganyu, Albedo isn’t a fighter. He’s more of a chemistry, er, alchemy geek than a warrior. But his lore-packed Story Quest revealed to us that he’s no regular human. He’s an artificial being created by an alchemist known as “Gold.”

His peculiar biology makes him immortal as well as makes him incredibly strong and durable.

MiHoYo has kept much of his story secret, but they have shown that he and Durin, the dragon whose remains can be found in Dragonspine, were both created by the same person.

8. Lisa

There’s more to the sleepy librarian of Mondstadt than meets the eye. Though she often tells the player that she doesn’t have the energy for quests, Lisa Minci is secretly the best graduate to come out of Sumeru Academy in around 200 years.

This would make her a powerful mage who can go toe-to-toe with many of the human Genshin Impact characters on this list if she felt like it.

Unfortunately, the lore also hints that Lisa’s life is threatened whenever she uses her powers, likely because she discovered a terrifying truth about the nature of Visions.

9. Beidou

If you play Beidou, you may have noticed that she says “Power that ended Haishan!” during her burst.

Beidou was not talking about her Vision, but her physical strength. Haishan was a sea monster that plagued the Sea of Clouds until Beidou decided to fulfill her childhood dream of slaying it. That’s not a joke. That’s exactly what her character stories tell you as you level her up.

Beidou only received her Vision after beheading Haishan with a single strike which means she accomplished a superhuman feat without any elemental powers.

10. Childe

Childe, a.k.a Tartaglia, is one of the Tsaritsa’s harbingers and that alone gives him a lot of cred with regards to his power level in the lore. He is also one of the few Genshin Impact characters we know of that survived the Abyss using only his fighting abilities.

Though he officially holds a Hydro vision, he also has an Electro delusion from the Tsaritsa that allows him to transform into his Foul Legacy form.

11. Shenhe

Shenhe may be one of the more recent additions to the game on this list, but the scene in the Return of the Jade Chamber quest where she freezes a tsunami sent by Besht firmly establishes her as one of the strongest Genshin Impact characters.

According to Shenhe’s Story Quest, she fought a monster made from the remnants of a god for days after being sacrificed by her own father as a child.

She was later found and pseudo-adopted by Cloud Retainer who trained her as if she were an adeptus. Much to the adepti’s surprise, she was able to keep up with the regimen despite being human.

12. Kazuha

Kazuha’s relaxed personality and love for haikus are just one side of him. On the battlefield, he’s an expert swordsman who can defeat several enemies in a single strike. This is implied by his Character Teaser and his Burst’s text description. Additionally, his Burst also tells us that he’s a self-taught swordsman.

In the last act of the Inazuma Archon Quest, Kazuha successfully parries a strike dealt by Raiden Ei, albeit with the help of his deceased friend’s Vision.

13. Kujou Sara

Kujou Sara serves as the Raiden Shogun’s general which is why it only makes sense for her to be a strong and skilled fighter.

Aside from her martial skills, which she honed as the adopted daughter of the Kujou Clan, another key detail about Sara makes her stronger than the following Genshin Impact characters on this list: Her bloodline.

Sara isn’t human. She’s actually a tengu, an adeptus-like being that’s native to Inazuma. This naturally makes her more durable than your average human soldier and coupled with her Vision and training, it makes her a formidable general.

But since La Signora knocked her out during the Archon Quest, it’s probably safe to say that La Signora was stronger than her.

14. Diluc

Diluc is nowhere near a top-tier DPS these days, but in terms of Genshin Impact‘s lore, he’s still a pretty formidable fighter. He was regarded as one of the best knights while he was still a member of the Knights of Favonius and used to be Acting Grandmaster Jean’s senior.

These days, he runs his family’s winery by day and hunts down Fatui and Abyss agents by night. He also does this on his own, easily making him one of the most capable human fighters in the game.

It’s a toss-up between her and Diluc

15. Ayato

Ayaka may be a skilled swordsman in her own right, but it took her a long time to be able to defeat her older brother in a duel. If we read Ayato’s skill descriptions, it also seems that neither she nor Thoma tends to win against him.

We don’t see Ayato fight much in the game, but his trailers heavily imply that he’s around the level of Diluc or Sara seeing as he has no need for bodyguards and is able to singlehandedly defeat Fatui agents.

Who’s the Strongest Character in Genshin Lore?

Having said all that, it’s highly likely that the strongest Genshin Impact character is the one who’s been with us this entire time.

The Traveler, the player’s first character and main character of the game, is said to come from another world. In the opening scene of the game, we see that Lumine and Aether have the natural ability to fly and are able to go toe to toe with the Unknown Goddess.

Sure, they get defeated, but as we progress in the game, we learn more about who our Traveler is and discover that they’re likely immortal.

As we continue our journey, the Traveler also regains some of their strength and powers which likely means that by the end of the game, the Traveler is the strongest character in Genshin Impact lore.